Govts ordered to take final decision on cadre merger
Chandigarh, April 9
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has directed the Union Government and the Punjab Government to take a final decision on the issue of merger of cadre of all categories of wildlife officials with the Forest Department.

SC dismisses Punjab Govt’s SLP
Chandigarh, April 9
Settling an important question of law, the Supreme Court has dismissed a special leave petition filed by the Punjab Government against an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Two girls drowned in canal
Rajpura, April 9
A day after members of the Joshi family performed ‘havan’ to propitiate gods, tragedy struck them today, with two daughters drowning in the Narwana canal, near here.

Manpreet Aakhtar and Sardool Sikandar perform during a nite organised by Mehak Culture Forum at Central State Library in Patiala on Sunday.
— Tribune photo by Rajesh Sachar

Labourer’s death: police station gheraoed
Bathinda, April 9
Incensed over the death of a labourer, hundreds of labourers today gheraoed Maur police station and placed his body at the protest site. However, the tehsildar persuaded them to remove the body from the spot.

Rajnath to address May 5 rally
Abohar, April 9
The BJP President, Mr Raj Nath Singh, will address a rally here on May 5. Stating this today, Mr Manjit Singh Rai, general secretary of the state BJP, said various issues like the emergence of Abohar as a "smack city" and the deterioration in the law and order situation would be discussed.

Old tree felled to make way for multiplex
Amritsar, April 9
The most happening people of the holy city today were shocked to see felling of another old tree on The Mall, threatening the pristine glory of the passage beautified and preserved by the British government.

Wanton destruction of green cover: A tree felled near Novelty Chowk in Amritsar to make way for a multiplex.
— Photo by Rajiv Sharma

Ajmer Singh to get justice
Chief Secretary assures PCS officers
Chandigarh, April 9
The Punjab Chief Secretary, Mr K.R. Lakhanpal, today gave a patient hearing to a
delegation of the PCS Officers Association.

Controversy over formation of Durbar-e-Khalsa
Patiala, April 9
The formation of the Durbar-e-Khalsa by Baba Harnam Singh Dhuma on the occasion of the World Sikh Sammelan organised at Fatehgarh Sahib recently has caused a controversy as an NRI has claimed that he had formed the Durbar-e-Khalsa about 20 years back and his organisation was registered and patented in the USA and India.

PUDA releases 30 cr for mini-secretariat
Gurdaspur, April 9
PUDA has released Rs 30 crore for setting up a mini-secretariat here. Mr Raghunath Sahai Puri, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, stated this while talking to the media. He said the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, would lay the foundation stone of the mini-secretariat next month.

Rlys accedes to Sidhu’s demands
Amritsar, April 9
The Northern Railway (NR) is mulling over a proposal to augment passenger amenities at the Attari railway station. The scheme will cost of Rs 7.33 crore on fifty-fifty cost sharing basis between the Ministries of Home Affairs and the Railways.

PPS officers a disappointed lot
Amritsar. April 9
Even as the state government is contemplating to order reshuffling of senior police officers in the coming week, officers of the Punjab Police Service (PPS) are unlikely to be posted as district police chiefs anywhere in the state.

‘Talent hunt’ in jail!
Amritsar, April 9
It was virtually a “talent hunt” launched by the jail authorities within the four high walls of Central Jail where Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indians have been lodged for committing various crimes.

Jail inmates present a skit in the high-security Amritsar Central Jail during a function on Sunday.
— Tribune photo by Rajiv Sharma

GND varsity centre in Central Jail
Amritsar, April 9
In a significant development, Guru Nanak Dev University has decided to set up Adult Education Centre and Distance Education in the high security Central Jail here that would be bigger than Tihar Jail’s experiment. It will be first of its kind in the country.

Rly board to drop RCF PSU proposal
Kapurthala, April 9
Keeping in view the resentment among the employees of Rail Coach Factory, the Railway Board has decided to drop the proposal of declaring the factory as public sector undertaking

Midwives told to help check female foeticide
Nawanshahr, April 9
Deputy Commissioner, Krishan Kumar addressing midwives and nurses at a seminar on Female Foeticide organised by the Upkaar an NGO in Uchcha Ladhana village on Saturday, exhorted them not to act as a mediator between errant doctors and parents regarding female foeticide.

Chamkaur Sahib to be made subdivision
Ropar, April 9
Chamkaur Sahib will be made a subdivision on April 14, as announced by the Chief Minister, with its inauguration by Minister for Tourism and Animal Husbandry Jagmohan Singh Kang.

Media urged to launch crusade against drug abuse
Rajpura, April 9
The Punjab Minister for Cooperation and Horticulture, Mr Jasjit Singh Randhawa, yesterday urged the media to launch a crusade against social ills, particularly drug abuse, which were playing havoc with the lives of the youth.

Farmer bodies give ‘do-or-die’ call
Bathinda, April 9
The BKU (Ugrahan) and other farmer organisations today announced that they would not allow big industrial houses to acquire land of diligent farmers of Punjab, besides giving a “do-or-die” call to the farming community.

Notification on land acquisition illegal: BKU
Sangrur, April 9
Terming the notification issued by the Punjab Government for acquiring 376 acres in Dhaula, Fatehgarh Chhanna and Sangherra villages near Barnala as illegal, Mr Joginder Singh Ugrahan and Mr Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan, president and general secretary, respectively, of the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), on Friday said the union would continue its agitation till the scrapping of the notification .

Bar ex-chief injured, driver killed in attack
Abohar, April 9
Mr Ravi Sethi, a coloniser and Mr Satish Narang, former president of the Bar Association here were seriously injured and the driver of their car was killed following an attack late Friday night.

Land dispute turns ugly, 4 hurt
Kharar, April 9
At least four persons were injured, including one seriously, during a group clash over possession of a disputed piece of land at Chappar Chiri village near here today.

Five held for stealing electricity wires
Abohar, April 9
The CIA staff of Punjab police has arrested five members of a gang, which was considered responsible for failure in implementing 24-hour rural electricity supply scheme in the region.

Former bank employees held for fraud
Bathinda, April 9
The police has arrested three youths who were perpetrating bank frauds in various branches of HDFC Bank across the state. The police has also seized Rs 6.32 lakh and a computer from their possession.

4 booked for fraud
Hoshiarpur, April 9
A case of duping an innocent person of Rs 9 lakh was reported from Mazara Dingrian village under Mahilpur police station last evening.

Flesh trade racket busted; 7 arrested
Amritsar, April 9
With the arrest of seven persons, including four women, the Chheharta police today claimed to have busted a flesh trade racket. A case under the Immoral Trafficking Act was registered against them.

Coaching centre for poor
Patiala, April 9
A free coaching centre for admission to medical and engineering courses for poor students was inaugurated by Mr Rakesh Ahir, Deputy Principal Secretary to the Punjab Chief Minister and the president of the Samaj Bhalai Manch, at Shri Guru Ravi Dass Mandir here today.